2009 Columbia Rediviva phinny hill vineyard estate grown horse heaven hills 76% cabernet sauvignon & 24% syrah

Vineyard: The Columbia Rediviva is a captivating and exotic blend from Washington State comprised of two classic varietals: cabernet sauvignon and syrah. At Buty, we were the first Washington winery to focus on blends of cabernet sauvignon and syrah as deluxe wines. Sourced exclusively from our estate-grown vines at Phinny Hill Vineyard, the Columbia Rediviva grows from an historic Washington site—the east face of Phinny Hill by the . The cabernet and syrah vines are planted there in silt-loam soils, above free-draining basalt cobblestones from pre-Ice Age rivers. Our blocks are on the leeward and east-facing slope of the hilltop, where they are protected from the forceful Columbia River winds. We sought out this site specifically for producing Columbia Rediviva. We selected all the trellising and pruning design for the cabernet vines, and custom-planted the syrah to our choice of clones and rootstock. Our 9-acre block of Phinny Hill is farmed 100 percent organically, and will complete the three-year organic certification process in 2012. Phinny Hill consistently ripens red varietal grapes with classical sugar, acid and tannin structures. Our Columbia Rediviva was the name of the ship that Captain Robert Gray sailed up the mouth of the, then unnamed, river while searching for the elusive in 1792. As the river that connects all of the vineyards we work with at Buty, the Columbia River is a lifeline we honor as the namesake of our Columbia Rediviva wine.

Vintage & Harvest: Although the spring of 2009 was cool, a hot September finish brought big ripe flavors to the vintage. At the same time, the ripe tannins produced were complemented by generous acids from the long, cool spring. Flowering occurred the week of June 15th, with veraison finishing during a dry summer that saw highs only in the 90s. No rain fell in the Horse Heaven Hills from veraison until harvest, which began October 8th, 110 days after flowering. This length of time for fruit to develop on the vine is equivalent to the finest vintages of Bordeaux cabernet sauvignon. The cabernet has Brix of 25.0°, a pH of 3.5 and total acidity of 8.2. The syrah, (which was harvested three days earlier than the cabernet), had one more gram of acid than the cabernet. Color was abundant in the must, seeds were brown and flavors were deep and ripe in both the varieties, yielding this classically built wine.

Winemaking: After de-stemming, the uncrushed fruit was gravity-transferred to wooden Taransaud fermentation tanks. We fermented for 21 days on skins allowing generous extract. The free-run cabernet selected for this bottling was aged in half-new and half-used Taransaud and Bel Air Château barrels for 20 months. By strict selection of the best lots, our final cellar blend was made from only 50% of the vintage’s best yield, and was bottled unfiltered.

Tasting Notes: Rich, ripe fruit and classic high-tone Washington floral notes rise from the glass generously. While this wine is reminiscent of the exceptional 2007 vintage, with its big bold character, what’s different here is the dominance of cabernet and how it shapes the wine. Elements of beetroot and chocolate, as well as darker tones shift the 2009 vintage into familiar cabernet territory. Yet the syrah keeps it brighter than any cabernet can be. The wine smells ripe and inviting, and while the oak presence shows its reserve quality, the oak is a complement, perfectly supporting the compelling fruit and flower perfume. A generous attack is followed by a mid-palate filled with power, fruit and fine grained tannins, all supported by abundant acidity, which keeps the palate clean and leads to a persistent fruit and flower finish. This young wine promises a long future.

Four hundred and ninety cases were released September 1st, 2012.